Just One Dare (The Kingston Family 5)

“Makes sense. The front desk didn’t want to let more than two people up at one time, so I offered to come down and give you all an update.” He smiled at Melly. “Why don’t I give you my pass, for starters. Tell them you’re going up, and we’ll switch when you’re done.”

Melly’s eyes lit up. “I just want to see Leah for myself. I won’t stay long.”

“Can we talk, first?” Nick hadn’t planned to have a personal conversation but he felt compelled to talk to this woman who’d become his daughter’s grandmother, despite the circumstances.

“Of course.” Melly grasped his arm and led him to a private corner near a large, marble pillar. “What is it? Is Aurora all right?” Her concern was obvious in the tiny wrinkles beside her eyes.

And that was why he’d wanted to speak with her. “Aurora is tired but fine.” Nick drew a deep breath. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?” Melly was an attractive woman with dark, shoulder-length hair. Her makeup was flawless but she was anything but the ice queen her look might imply.

“For being there when I couldn’t. For taking Aurora in and giving her a home,” he said. While he’d been partying in college, Aurora had been alone until Linc had found her. “It takes a special human being to take in her husband’s illegitimate, pregnant daughter,” Nick said. “And I’m not trying to flatter you to win you over. I mean it.”

Melly linked her hands together and met his gaze. “I knew my husband wasn’t a saint. But I did not know he was capable of turning his back on his own child.” She drew a deep breath. “By the time Linc discovered Aurora, she was alone and pregnant. I didn’t see her as my husband’s illegitimate child. I saw her as a young girl all alone in the world, about to give birth.”

Nick’s stomach turned over. Despite already knowing the details, they hurt to hear. “All the more reason for me to stand by my statement. You’re a special person.” And because he had a stepmom with an equally big heart, Nick knew what he was talking about.

“Thank you,” Melly murmured, her eyes suspiciously damp. “Now let’s talk about you. I know you didn’t abandon Aurora. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances.”

He nodded.

“But you’re here now and I’m putting my faith in you. You owe me nothing, but you owe them everything,” she said, patting his shoulder.

Nick was aware. “Those abandonment issues she has… I can never tell when I’m making any progress. I’ll think we’ve come to an understanding, then something will happen…” Like an emergency phone call that would take him away. “And she retreats.”

“And that’s where your tenacity will have to come in,” Melly said with an assured grin.

Linc walked over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Are you giving Nick a hard time? I thought that was my job.” His grin told Nick he was only partially joking.

“Lincoln, behave!”

Nick chuckled at Melly’s scolding. That worked better than any comeback he might have had.

Ignoring Aurora’s overprotective brother, Nick met Melly’s gaze. “What you just said to me? You’re right. And I will do whatever I can to make up for the time I missed.”

Financially and emotionally, he thought. But he didn’t intend to tell anyone but Aurora just how he intended to do that.

Melly smiled. “Good. Now I’m going up to see Aurora and Leah. Thank you, Nick.”

“My pleasure.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be in Florida?” Linc asked.

Nick narrowed his gaze. “I flew in this morning.”

“Aurora called you?” Linc sounded surprised.

He nodded. “I take it she didn’t contact you?”

Linc shoved his hands into his front pockets of his slacks. “No. My mother let us all know. To be honest, I’m surprised she texted Mom, let alone you. It must mean you’ve made progress with those walls of hers.”

“I’m trying,” he admitted. “Aurora told me that she asked Melly not to come to the hospital.”

Linc groaned. “Frustrating woman,” he muttered. “As if that would keep us away.” A few seconds ticked by in silence until Linc spoke again. “You seem to know Aurora pretty well for a man who hasn’t seen her in years.”

Nick refrained from rolling his eyes at the other man’s attempt at a dig. He understood Linc’s protectiveness. Admired it, even.

“All Aurora had to do was tell me her history. From there, it wasn’t difficult to figure out the way she thinks.” That, and he’d made it his mission to understand her so he could learn how to reassure her, and ultimately, win her over.

“Yeah. Her parents really fucked with her head. Or should I say, the fact that they weren’t in her life did. I wish I’d never had to tell her the truth.”

Nick leaned against the pillar. “The truth always comes out. Now that she knows, she can begin to put it behind her.” He shrugged. “Assuming she learns she can trust the people who love her.”